13th October, 2011
11:30 AM – at the hostels and venue.
The snickering smiles and the open bickering remained.
Hak and Hamid had taken a taxi after they lost sight of the team, and at the same time, both arrived along with them.
Hamid and Hak were stopped at the gate for inspection, while the team was greeted and led inside. As they moved away, Hak noticed a particular fellow from that team smirking at them, before the coach pushed him forward to move—also smiling.
Hak took in a long breath and smiled politely as he showed the inspection his belongings, and Hamid did the same.
Moving inside the hostel building, Hak saw Hayat talking loudly on the phone, standing at the staircase on the fourth floor. Seeing Hak, he came down to the second floor and met them halfway.
After greeting them, he showed Hak to his room and took Hamid away, as he was going to stay somewhere else.
The first floor was for referees and other guests, the second for pro-boxers, the third and fourth for amateurs, some not-high-class coaches, and the only attendant—Hamid.
Hayat went away, and Hak stepped inside under the eyes of three judging boxers. One glance, and they went back to talking about their stuff—but not before indirectly announcing which bed, place, or mattress belonged to whom, speaking to one another while looking at Hak.
Hak placed his belongings on the floor near the empty mattress and lay down.
He felt pricks in his legs, back, and arms and tried to roll slightly. His body went numb, then shifted back to sharp needle-like sensations. Something was wrong, and from the inside, he felt uncomfortable.
After trying for nearly twenty minutes to sleep, he finally decided to get up when he heard Hayat knocking on the door, calling for him. He grabbed his and Hamid's documents from the bag and left the room.
"Yr, you made me so late. They are nagging me about why I even made them sponsor you or call you a pro."
Hak, as usual, listened quietly as he handed over the documents.
"Of brother as well?"Hayat asked after looking at them.
Hak nodded.
"Okay. You go down, look at the ring, and observe how we have managed everything!Teams from all over the country have come—amateurs, professionals, retired professionals, army teams!They came last night and have since then enjoyed and familiarized themselves—"
And just like that, he was stopped mid-sentence by someone calling him and left urgently, handing the documents back.
Hak went back inside, placed the documents in his bag, and grabbed a change of clothes.
He decided to wash off this uneasiness.It was making him UNABLE.
Just then, he saw one of his teammates walking out after taking a shower and leaving after glancing at him.
Not sure what was wrong with everyone here, Hak turned the tap. Cold, icy water poured over his head and body, freezing him in place. He turned it off immediately and wrapped a towel around himself.
After changing clothes, the first thing he did was check whether there was any system for warm water. The temperature during the day ranged between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius. He, who came from flat plains where the temperature rarely dropped to 4 and already felt freezing, could not adapt to the weather or the facilities provided for people accustomed to this region.
After discovering yet another backlog in himself, he hurried back to his room and wrapped himself in blankets, anxiety setting in.
He wanted to disappear—but at the same time, his mind wanted to go down, see the ring with his own eyes for the first time, and dance on it… with rhythm, punches, accuracy, and presence.
Once more, the whole team of three that was sharing a room with Hak came in, followed by Hayat.
"Grab your stuff. We are moving all professionals to the first floor."
Once again confused, Hak grabbed all his belongings and did as he was told.
"Look how he is climbing down the stairs one by one…"
"Is this something to be ashamed of?"Hak's mind questioned. This was too much now.
He shrugged his shoulders and went inside the room. From four rooms to now two, and from four roommates to eight, the floor had grown crowded, leaving him with no place to enter.
One room stared at him.Then the other room did the same.
The players from room number two whispered among themselves, loud enough for the whole floor to hear:
"We don't want him here."
Just when the situation threatened to burden Hak even more, the captain from the team that had been with him earlier spoke:
"He is one of us now. He will come wherever we go and stay wherever we stay."
It shocked even their own coach—this newly formed bond, the only bond this team had ever made.
Hak thanked them with a small smile and settled down, releasing a sigh of relief.
The other team, which had also become their roommates for the day, announced that warm water was available in the attached washrooms on this floor.
Just then, Hamid knocked and asked whether Hak had joined all the teams just now. Hak couldn't reply. Hamid then informed him that they had already taken the weights of all amateur categories, and that all players—pro and amateur alike—were taken for a brief live interview.
Hak replied with a simple, "No."
Just then, Hayat, passing by, asked the same question.
Hak's reply remained the same.
Still, he wanted to go and see the ring for himself. He changed into his trainers and went to the main hall. The main event of the day had already concluded, and now teams were practicing in every corner.
Suddenly, something came over Hak, and he left the hall in a hurry.
Entering the hostel building, he ran into Hayat again. This time, he was talking with an important, authoritative coach.
They both stopped as they looked at Hak's face, and Hayat stepped forward.
"Have you seen the ring?"
"Yes,"Hak replied in a low voice, an awkward, hesitant smile forming.
"See how great it is!"
"Mm."
"What is wrong with him? Was his weight wrong?"the coach standing behind Hayat remarked irritably.
"No, his is tomorrow,"Hayat replied.
"Then—no. Let us leave."
He said, clearly irritated, and walked away with Hayat.
As he left, Hayat turned and said to Hak:
"You, too, are a boxer just like them."
The words went unheard by Hak, who was now in complete despair.
Soon after, following a complete series of whirlwinds, Hamid came to take him for dinner. They quietly walked on foot to a nearby restaurant and sat down after ordering two chapatis with salan.
After sitting down, Hamid hurriedly pulled the curtain around them and told Hak to stay quiet.
The voices of three or four people filled the entire restaurant as they sat at the table beside Hak's.
"I have told him to remove him from the list, but no—he is fixed on making him fight!"
"He is not listening."
"Yr, did you even look at him? He doesn't deserve to be here.DID YOU SEE THE FACE HE WAS MAKING?"
"No need to give him any attention. I will remove him at the first disqualification I see. And tomorrow is the weight."
"Please do—even if he is in weight. If P1 was boycotting, why let HIM enter!"